Jayhawks Gear Up as Golden Hurricane Roll In

Freshman Keyla Morgan and the Jayhawks return to the harwood hosting Tulsa on Dec. 22 inside Allen Fieldhouse.
Game 11: Kansas vs. Tulsa
Time 2 p.m.
Location Lawrence, Kan.
Arena Allen Fieldhouse (16,300)
Series Kansas leads 1-0
Television Jayhawk Television Network/ESPN3
Nate Bukaty (Play-by-Play)
Brenda VanLengen (Analyst)
Radio Jayhawk Radio Network
Affiliate List
Online: Jayhawk Digital Passport
Live Stats Kansas Sidearm Stats
Notes Kansas
Tulsa
Stats at a Glance Kansas Tulsa
Record 5-5 4-3
Rankings NR NR
Points/GM 68.2 65.4
Points Allowed/GM 66.7 68.4
FG% 42.5 39.3
Rebounds/GM 36.0 40.6
Assists/GM 13.3 12.6
Blocks/GM 4.4 1.9
Steals/GM 8.5 9.7

LAWRENCE, Kan. – Kansas women’s basketball is set to host Tulsa (4-3) on Sunday, Dec. 22, inside Allen Fieldhouse before taking a break for the Holidays.

The Jayhawks (5-5) are looking to rebound from a three-point loss to No. 18 Purdue and return to their winning ways prior to the Holiday break. KU’s final game of 2013 is against Yale on Dec. 29 before opening Big 12 action against West Virginia. Both games will air on the Jayhawk Television and Radio Network.

Any fan that brings an unopened toy for Toys for Tots to the game against Tulsa will receive free admission.

KANSAS FAST BREAKS
• The Jayhawks boast a 329-153 (.678) record all-time versus non-conference opponents and are 91-27 (.771) in non-conference play under head coach Bonnie Henrickson.
• KU has a record of 117-51 (.696) in Allen Fieldhouse under Henrickson and an all-time home record of 393-152 (.721).
• In the month of December, the Jayhawks own an overall mark of 179-79 (.693) and are 45-18 (.714) during the Bonnie Henrickson era in the final month of the year.
• Juniors Chelsea Gardner and Asia Boyd continue to lead the Kansas offense by averaging double figures with 16.8 and 12.7 points per game, respectively.
• Gardner became the first Jayhawk to earn Phillips 66 Big 12 Player of the Week honors during the 2013 14 season for the week of Dec. 16. She is also the first KU player to earn the award since Nov. 19 when Carolyn Davis was named league player of the week. It’s the first conference weekly honor for Gardner.
• Senior CeCe Harper has stepped up to the challenge of taking over the point guard role for the Jayhawks. She has dished out a team-best 39 assists, while garnering 18 steals. Harper recorded a career-high 11 assists against Texas Southern on Dec. 12.
• Gardner has swatted away a team-high 17 blocks in 2013-14 and she has 82 blocks in her career. She is eight blocks away from becoming the 11th Jayhawk in program history to record 90 or more career blocks.
 
ABOUT THE JAYHAWKS
Kansas is in the midst of a six-game homestand to conclude 2013 and kick off 2014. The Jayhawks host Tulsa in their fourth-straight game inside Allen Fieldhouse. KU is 4-2 on the season when playing at home and 5-5 on the year. Kansas closes out its non-conference slate with the Golden Hurricane and Yale on Dec. 29 before opening Big 12 play with West Virginia on Jan. 2.
 
Junior Chelsea Gardner continues to lead the Jayhawks’ offense and is fifth in the Big 12 in scoring with 16.8 points per game. She reached the 30-point mark for the first time in her career against Texas Southern on Dec. 12. She also leads the league with three double-doubles this season. Junior Asia Boyd is also averaging double figures with 12.7 points per game. She is 17th in the conference in scoring per game and recently topped her career-high by knocking in 25 points against Texas Southern (12/12).
 
After dishing out a career-best 11 assists against Texas Southern, senior CeCe Harper leads the team with 39 assists. She is eighth in the Big 12 in assists per game with 3.9. She is also scoring 9.8 points and grabbing 3.8 rebounds per game. Junior Natalie Knight picked up where she left off before her injury by continuing to take care of the ball. Knight has the fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference at 2.5. She has 33 assists to 13 turnovers in 10 games. She is contributing 7.1 points per game and shooting 32.5 percent (13-40) from behind the arc. Freshman Keyla Morgan rounds out the Jayhawks’ starting five. She is averaging 5.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game since earning a spot in the starting rotation.
 
Freshman Dakota Gonzalez was the first off the bench for KU against Purdue. In the last two games, she averaged 11 points and 16 minutes per game. Sophomore Lamaria Cole provided a second-half spark for Kansas against the Boilermakers scoring nine points in 11 minutes. Senior Markisha Hawkins is averaging 5.2 points a game and shooting 34.5 percent from the field.
 
Freshman Caelynn Manning-Allen has swatted eight blocked shots and grabbed 20 rebounds in eight appearances. Junior Bunny Williams is averaging 2.2 points and 16.3 minutes per game. Freshman Dylan Gonzalez is shooting 60.0 percent from the field and scoring 1.5 points per game. Freshman Jada Brown has grabbed 1.4 rebounds in 10.2 minutes per game.
 
THIS DAY IN KANSAS WOMEN’S BASKETBALL HISTORY
The Jayhawks topped Houston, 89-69, on Dec. 22, 2009 and own a 5-2 record when playing on the 22nd day of December. Kansas was ranked No. 21 in the nation when they faced the Cougars of Houston. Danielle McCray delivered her second-straight 30-point performance after knocking in 37 points. She scored 13 of KU’s first 17 points in the game and ended the night 12-of-13 from the field.
 
HOT JAYHAWK TRENDS
Kansas has outrebounded its opponents in the last three games and in 7-of-10 games this season … The Jayhawks have trailed at half time only twice this year … KU has held 5-of-10 opponents to under 38 percent shooting … Junior forward Chelsea Gardner is shooting 73 percent (27-37) from the field in the last three games … Gardner is also perfect from the free throw line in the past two games (7-7).
 
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN
After 10 games, Kansas is among the top five in several Big 12 statistical categories. The Jayhawks are third in the conference in blocked shots with 4.4 per game and free throw percentage at 73.3 percent. KU recorded the most free throw attempts in a single game with 54 and shot the second-highest field goal percentage at 61.4 percent against Creighton on Nov. 17.
 
Individually, Chelsea Gardner leads the league with three double-doubles on the season. Gardner ranks fifth in the conference standings in scoring (16.8 ppg) and field goal percentage (.613). She is also sixth in rebounds with 8.2 per game and second in defensive rebounds with 6.3 per game. Junior Natalie Knight has the fourth-best assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.5. Senior CeCe Harper has 39 assists on the year for 3.9 per game and is eighth among the Big 12.
 
CHELSEA LATELY
Junior forward Chelsea Gardner has stepped up to the challenge of filling the scoring void left by the Jayhawks graduating three 1,000 point scorers at the conclusion of the 2012-13 season. Gardner has scored in double figures in all 10 games this season and is averaging 16.8 points per game. She scored a career-high 30 points against Texas Southern on Dec. 12. Gardner has recorded three double-doubles this year and nine in her career. She has reached the 600 career-point mark and is on pace to reach 1,000 points by the end of her Jayhawk career.
 
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